FALCONERS are trying to recover two large birds of prey flying free around Southport.

FALCONERS are trying to recover two large birds of prey flying free around Southport.

The Southport Visiter has spoken to two local keepers of raptors, who confirmed efforts had been made to take back into captivity both a harris hawk seen repeatedly around Ainsdale and a European eagle owl apparently resident near the Marine Lake.

Although neither of the falconers wished to be named, one said: “There are quite a lot of falconers in Southport and they are responsible people.

“None of them have any birds missing. What people think is they have come from other areas, such as people flying them on the beach at Ainsdale nature reserve.”

The falconer warned that those who are not experienced raptor handlers, wearing correct protective gear, should not attempt to catch the birds.

He said: “They have big talons that will just tear through gardening gloves.”

A fellow Southport enthusiast who has experience of keeping owls said he was seeking to recapture the eagle owl “to look after it”.

But he added: “The longer it’s in the wild, the more it gets used to looking after itself and the harder it becomes to recapture it.”

Meanwhile, Pauline Parker of Lancashire Hawks and Owls in Blackburn has reassured dog and cat owners about the owl’s presence, saying she knew of no reported incidents of an eagle owl attacking these creatures in the UK – although they have been known to kill young deer in their native habitat in much of Europe and Asia.

Mrs Parker said: “It’s a very patient bird – it will wait and wait and wait and its main food is rodents like rats.”